Stellantis shifting Brampton, Ont., Jeep production to Illinois

UNIFOR officials representing autoworkers at Jeep’s Brampton assembly plant say production is slated for the plant moving to Illinois.

The union is asking the government to make saving the plant at the City of Brampton a top priority and Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s “disappointed” in this decision. 

Stellantis announced its $13 billion U.S. expansion plan Tuesday, leaving the future success of the province’s auto sector at risk.

Ford says no provincial funding will flow to Stellantis, until clear assurances are given on when the plant will restart its operations.

Stellantis says this expansion, which includes the transfer of Jeep Compass production out of Brampton, is the single largest investment in the company’s history.

In a statement provided to CHCH news, Stellantis said the company has other plans for Brampton that will be shared at a later date.

Work at the Brampton plant was put on pause earlier this year, in the middle of a retooling plan.

Prior to closing, the Brampton assembly plant employed some 3,000 people.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is calling this a “gut punch” for Ontario.

“We’re angry, we’re disappointed, we expected better from a company that Canadian taxpayers invested deeply in,” said Brown.

READ MORE: No deal yet on Windsor electric vehicle battery plant, Stellantis says

Ford lashed out at U.S. President Donald Trump following Stellantis’ decision, calling him a tyrant.

“He drives me absolutely crazy, he does,” said Ford. “We aren’t going to roll over — I’m not going to let him roll over Ontario I’ll tell you that.”

The premier demanded that Prime Minister Carney hit back hard against the United States.

“We need to start hitting back and hitting back hard,” said Ford. “That’s the only thing this person understands.”

Union national president Lana Payne says UNIFOR expects a decisive government response to retain auto jobs in Brampton.

“We’re going to fight for every auto job and we are going to fight for Brampton, because we believe we had commitments from this company that we were going to build vehicles for generations to come here,” said Payne.

Auto industry analyst Brendan Sweeney says Stellantis is the third U.S. automaker to break their promises, along with Ford and GM.

“Three U.S. automakers promised things to Canada — promised things for investments — three of them have changed their promises,” said Sweeney.

McMaster economist Colin Mang says the decisions are driven by Trump tariffs.

“They can avoid a lot of those tariffs by moving production to the United States,” said Mang. “I think this is a trend that is going to continue, at least until we come to a new free trade agreement with the United States.”

Canada’s Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is threatening legal action against Stellantis.

“I’m extremely disappointed about this decision and not only am I disappointed, but it’s completely unacceptable,” said Joly.

In a statement posted to social media Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the Stellantis production move a “direct consequence” of current U.S Tariffs.

Carney says until a new agreement is reached for North American trade, the auto sector will continue to be impacted.

WACTH MORE: Canadian auto industry already feeling impact of Trump’s tariffs